don't stray
by tints
Summary: "i wouldn't be here, constantly looking over my shoulder for klaus, just to make sure you're still you." or the one where stefan and caroline are simultaneously running out of bunnies and running from klaus. s3 au.


**disclaimer:** i do not own these characters.

this deals with the ripper arc in season three and the fact that the friendship between these two was put way on the back-burner. takes the idea of stefan breaking free from being klaus' bitch and being on the run from his best friend _with_ his best friend. i also wanted to deal with (quickly) caroline going off that all-thumper diet.

written for jeremy_finch at the barbie ficathon livejournal for the prompt _I would take a whisper if that's all you have to give_. title from bic runga's _sway_.

—

**don't stray**

"You don't have to babysit me, you know," she says, arm brushing against his. Stefan's not really good at making decisions that aren't atrocious; walking through a crowded market early in the morning isn't the best thing to do for a vampire who just ripped the jugular from a man in an alleyway the previous night. He knows she needs it more than being locked up in the little house they've made as their own for the time-being. Being trapped within four walls of a literal house is nothing like being stuck in the confines of ones' head.

"I know," he glances down, watching where his feet step. He's someone who's afraid of stepping on a crack, of taking a single step out of line, just in case the entire house of cards she's carefully built, not him, falls down. He's already toeing a very dangerous line as it is, or several, if he thinks of the woman walking beside him. "But this is new, Caroline. You're not used to this."

She frowns, whipping her face around to glare at him. "Used to what, exactly? You being my friend for more than a few months before you forget we ever had a friendship or the fact that now I'm a raging psychopath who can hear people's hearts and instead of wanting to not rip them out, I want to do just the opposite?"

Stefan licks his lips, finding the roof of his mouth suddenly dry. His hands go to his pockets. "You're not used to this," he opts for, which only disgruntles her even more. She stops in the middle of the park. People pass by, pressing their arms and shoulders against him, but he's a boulder that cannot be budged. He cannot be picked and thrown to break glass into pieces any more. However, she can. She stands, back straight, and fights against the rushing tide of bodies as they push and pull against her, testing her will and strength to not let herself drown in her own desires.

"I'm not going to turn into some ripper," she says, crossing her arms against her chest. The frown only deepens. "I don't forget my friends when I decide to play on the dark side."

"_Caroline_ -"

"I know, it's not fair," she says, relenting a little. He watches the tension in her shoulders disappear, leaving her like water gliding over stones. "You couldn't help being a massive d-bag, I know. But you know what I don't get, Stefan?" She doesn't leave him time to respond. "How it's so easy for you to forget every thing you cared about before you turned into a raging crazy vampire. I miss my mom. I miss Elena and Bonnie. I miss Tyler," she looks him dead in the eye when she says his name, like it's going to have some sort of affect on him.

It does, but he's stone. He might not be heartless any more, but he still knows how to act like he is. He mirrors her, arms crossed against his chest, though loosely instead of tightly like hers. "Things change," he says. "People change. Circumstances change. I did what I had to do. It was easier to cut myself off from every one than to have them get caught in the crossfire."

"And how well did that work out for you?" she tilts her head. It didn't work out very well at all, he wants to say, but he doesn't, because she knows his answer just like she knows every little thing about him, the things he's admitted and the things he's kept wrapped up with the skeletons he keeps in his luggage. "I wouldn't be here, constantly looking over my shoulder for Klaus, just to make sure you're still you," she says for him. He knows she regrets her decision sometimes, placing him above what she really wants. A life with Tyler's been put on hold for years; the thread between them unravels while the one between him and her seems to only tighten and weave itself closer. She leans in closer, taking a step, and whispers harshly, "Making sure you don't go ahead and rip someone's head off because you're - You know!" She glances around like someone here can hear them, like their quarrel matters to these people, like they haven't been speaking loudly prior to her statement about him being a ripper.

Stefan glances down, nodding. "I know," he says. "You don't know how much I appreciate you being here, Caroline." To ensure he doesn't go off the deep end again. To ensure he doesn't make yet another stupid decision. To ensure Klaus doesn't compel him to become a shell of himself. "I know how much you're sacrificing for me," he continues, glancing up at her.

"Next time someone calls me a baby vampire, I'll tell them the story of how I ripped out the jugular of a hunter," she says, shoulders set, arms still crossed, but he can hear the pride - and guilt - in her voice. Proving herself to every one is something Stefan wishes she'd realise she doesn't have to do any more. He'd rather she remain human, care for her friends and prove to them that their decisions suck, rather than spend her energy trying to build a reputation as a dangerous creature. "I'm really tired of running, Stefan."

"I know," he repeats. "We'll get through this."  
"When?" She glances over his shoulder. "When I'm actually someone who enjoys hurting people to get my feed? When the world actually ends because there's way too much crap on the radio?" She focuses back on him, eyes on his, as she frowns, "This is never going to end, Stefan."

"It will," he says, hands gripping her shoulders without thinking. Spending time with Caroline means rekindling their friendship once again. Baby steps, he tells himself. But how long can he take baby steps around someone he's been a companion with for years now? The glass beneath his feet is tentative. He wants to break it sometimes, to push them further than they already are, to close the distance between them as sometimes he feels like he's on the other side of the world when he's sharing space with Caroline. "Things work out in the end, Caroline. We just have to be patient."

"I'm not good at being patient," she almost pouts when she says it. She glances at where his hands are. She's not pushing him off with a shrug. "And I'm kind of not great at being mad at you, either," she admits.

He can't help but smile a little, his lips lifting at the corner. "Stop it," she says, a smile brightening her features. "You once said you'd always look out for me, Stefan. I hope you're going to keep your end of the bargain."

His hands drop. He nods. "I promise you, Caroline."

Instead of saying her usual line of _I've never heard that before_ with the usual dismissive eyeroll, she gives him a smile, something that feels genuine for once, and almost pulls a face when her ears pick up a sound that he's been repressing underneath the way the beating of her heart wraps around his head like smoke or the way her Chanel perfume seems to intoxicate his senses after she's drowned herself in it to hide the scent of blood she's scrubbed raw from her flesh. "We really need to get some bunny in me, Stefan, because if that girl over there sings that line one more time I'm going to rip her head off."


End file.
